The Way to Fixing Us
by GirlDreamingToo
Summary: Bella is trapped in Forks, with her little brother to look after and trying to get them out of there and into a better life away from their abusive, violent cousin. What happens when she encounters Edward Cullen, once bright and happy but now broken? Can they fix each other without their problems trying to bring them down, or are they too damaged? Romance and some angst. All Human.


**Trying something here. If you, readers, like it, then I will be happy to continue. It's been a while since I have written anything.**

 **Disclaimer: I have no claim over these characters. I'm just having fun.**

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 **Chapter I: Ghost of You**

 **Bella POV**

If I could work two jobs, I totally would.

Too bad I'm still in high school, which doesn't leave me with much choice. The one I already have –working as a waitress in a crappy bar from five to ten– was turning out to be much more dangerous than I had anticipated, but then I look at Charlie's face, his bright eyes and the bruises in it, and any thought of leaving that job escapes my mind. Maybe in one year we'll have enough money to go. One year is not long. I can stand it 'til then.

Two jobs would get us out of here in six months, but as I sit on the bench and think about how horribly wrong my interview with the librarian went, I don't think I have a chance there. I have always loved books, and when I saw that they needed a part-time employee, I jumped at the opportunity.

She couldn't stop looking at me, her eyes wide with shock and, yes, fear. I know what I must have looked like. I mean, a skinny, malnourished girl that looked like a homeless girl? I get it. Not fit for the job.

I sigh, shivering in my jacket. It's Charlie's, but I have lost so much weight lately that all his clothes fit me now. I think that's good, though. That way we don't have to buy clothes for a while: we can just share them.

The bus is taking forever, and I wonder again if maybe I should just walk home. It's not that far, maybe thirty minutes, but I don't want to risk the chance that it starts to snow. I just have my jacket to cover me, and getting sick is _not_ a possibility. It's barely Tuesday and I have to work every night until Friday. I can get sick on the weekends, just not when I have to work.

I get up, go to the payphone that's outside of the library, and call home.

"Hello?" Charlie says, yawning. I smile. I must have woken him up.

"Hey, lazy dog." I say, shuddering as the wind picks up speed. "How's everything over there?"

"It's okay." He answers. I can hear him shuffling around. "Are you coming home?"

"Yep."

He yawns again. "How'd the interview go?"

I hesitate. Would I worry him? I don't say anything and try to come up with an excuse. _They gave it to someone else, but don't worry. They'll call if anything comes up,_ or maybe _it went great, but don't get your hopes up, there were a lot of people asking for the job, too._

" _Bella_." He says, sensing that something's wrong.

I sigh. "Didn't go as planned, but don't worry. I still have the bar."

He pauses. "I don't like that you work there, though. The library would've been so much better."

"I know, Charlie, but that's just how things are sometimes."

"Fine." He groans. "Just get home soon. I'm hungry."

"About that…" I look behind me to see if the bus is at least coming. Nothing. "Could you go to Jake's? Bus isn't in sight and I don't want you there on your own if Frank shows up."

Charlie knows better than to argue with me, but he makes a little sound of frustration when I say that. "Can't I stay here? I will be all right, I promise, Bella."

"Not up for discussion. Go to Jake's and wait for me there. Now."

He grunts again, but says OK. He is getting a little feisty these days, but I know he doesn't mean bad. He thinks he can handle Frank now that he's _eleven_ , but I know Frank is not someone to test. And I will never put Charlie in his way again.

I hang up and decide to just walk. It's cold, but whatever.

I haven't been walking for long when it starts to rain. _Really_?, I think. Snow would've been better. Thanks a lot, universe.

In just a matter of minutes it's pouring down. I know I should just ignore it and keep walking, but I seriously cannot get sick today. Old Mary only has Rosalie and me working tonight's shift, and that means more money for me. The bar is always crowded, so I can count on a lot of tips, at least fifty bucks, coming my way if we divide the tables equally between Rosalie and me.

I see a little coffee shop and go in. The smell hits me and I salivate, but I can't spend the money I have with me. With how everything has been going on lately, the money that's in my backpack right now is almost all that Charlie and I have. Last time I made the mistake of leaving it in my room, and when we returned from school, Frank had been there and roamed through all my stuff, taking the money. Wasn't making that mistake again, and now I had Charlie carry with him one-third of our money while I had the rest on me. Dangerous, perhaps, but we couldn't risk it with Frank, especially now that we don't know when he'll show up at the house.

So I just sit in one of the empty chairs and wait for the rain to pass. It's early, but I have to get home before four, make Charlie something to eat, do my homework, and go to work at five. I don't want to bring Charlie tonight, though, since Rosalie and I will be pretty busy handling the all customers and I won't have time to check on him often. Maybe I'll ask Jake if he can stay with him until I finish my shift.

Suddenly, I hear shouting. I look up and see that there's some sort of fight going on in the back of the place. Everybody stands up and runs to see what happens, but I just stay in my seat, holding my backpack close to me just in case.

"Let go of me!" Someone says.

"Sir, calm down."

" _You_ calm down!"

"SIR! I'm gonna have to ask you to leave immediately."

" _DON'T TOUCH ME_!"

The commotion reaches my table and I'm quick to stand up and back up against the wall. The workers are holding a man and trying to kick him out, but he's clearly giving them a hard time. He throws punches and kicks his legs and screams for them to let him go. His hood is up, but I can see that there are tears rolling down his eyes.

"You cannot be drunk here," a staff member says.

"Oh _FUCK YOU_!" The man yells, his speech slurred, trying to escape from the arms restraining him.

When they finally are able to throw him out into the street and he falls down, I feel bad for him. He's lying in his back, one arm covering his face and the other hitting the ground. He's still screaming, but I can't make out what he's saying.

The people passing by ignore him, and the staff seems to have forgotten about him already and are serving the customers. I keep looking at him, waiting to see if he will get up and leave, but he just stays there, shaking.

There, while looking at the man, a memory comes to me.

" _Do you… fix people?" I remember saying to Mom when I was young and had just learned what she did for a living._

 _She smiled and caressed my cheek. "Not exactly, but yeah. Kinda."_

 _I frowned, not understanding. "Are you like a… superhero?"_

 _She laughed. "Nop, just a nurse. Thanks for the comparison, though."_

" _Are all the people you fix good people?"_

 _She seemed to weigh her answer. "Not everyone in the world is good, sweetheart. Sometimes people are good, some are bad, and some are just an in between."_

 _I thought about this. "Do you fix all of them?"_

" _Yes. I help them all."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because," she said, putting me in her lap and rocking me, "that's what nurses are supposed to do. And because everyone needs a little help once in a while."_

I shake my head as if willing the memory to stop replaying. I don't like remembering the past, _especially_ when it comes to Renée and Charlie Swan. Some memories are better left forgotten. I know Charlie sometimes feel bad because he doesn't really have any memory of our parents, and I just wish that were my case too. He misses them, but he doesn't remember them. He doesn't know what they were like. I know those things, which is why it's harder: I _know_ how they were, how they used to take us to parks and play with us and how we were a family. And that's because it hurts more, because I don't understand what went wrong.

" _I'm sorry," I remember her saying. "So sorry." She was crying, but I could understand why. She handed me baby Charlie, and I took him. He was sleeping, his thumb in his mouth. He was getting heavy, and I wanted Mom to hold him because I could drop him. But she just pushed him into my arms._

" _Don't hate us." She said._

 _Oh, Mom, how could I_ not _hate you_ , I think sadly.

I don't want to remember any more, so I just get up, grab my backpack and put my hood up. It's still raining, but I don't care anymore. The memories have left me sulking and I just wanna get home to Charlie.

The man is still there, still shaking and mumbling, but it's not my job to help. That's someone else's problem.

I step over his body and walk a few steps before something grabs my ankle. I yelp and turn around, only to see that it's the man holding my ankle and he's looking up at me with so much sorrow. I freeze. I know this guy. He went to my school.

Edward Cullen.

What is he doing here? Didn't he graduated last year and go to Colorado? I didn't know much about him when he was in school, but he was –and still is, I suspect– every girl's dream and an overall pretty known dude in high school. Had good grades, a good family, and rumour has it that he is doing pretty well in medical school.

Then why is he crying at my feet?

"Edward…" I say, not sure what to do. I know where his house is, of course. It is the biggest one in Forks, kind of hard to miss. Maybe I should call his parents, but I have no idea what their phone numbers are. I know his sister Alice is a grade above mine, but I have no way of contacting her either.

"Why did you?" He sobs. He is looking at me, but I can tell that he's not really seeing me or talking to me. "Why did you?"

 _Shit_ , I think. I look around, but no one is paying attention to us. I gently try to loosen his grasp on my ankle, but he tightens it and doesn't let go.

What the hell do I do now?

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 **This is kinda fun haha. I love angsty stories so this is definitely heading that direction, but don't worry. I also love happy endings.**

 **Thoughts?**


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